Coming off its first loss of the season, No. 25 Illinois took the floor at its State Farm Center home in Champaign on Saturday with plenty of motivation against struggling Maryland Eastern Shore.

So even when the Illini showed up with something less than their sharpest weapons, they managed to hammer the Hawks with size, muscle and blunt-force effort in an 87-40 runaway win.

An excellent defensive performance helped stake Illinois (4-1) to an early lead against the Hawks (2-6), allowing the opportunity for more floor time for its non-starters, including freshman Morez Johnson Jr., who had career highs of 10 points and 13 rebounds in just 13 minutes. Freshman forward Will Riley led the Illini with 19 points off the bench – all in the second half – and junior guard Kylan Boswell continued his recent upswing with 13 points, four rebounds and another sinister defensive performance.

After falling to No. 8 Alabama on a middling shooting night, Illinois came out clanking in the first half against the Hawks, “hitting” an atrocious 4-for-21 3-pointers (19.0 percent) before the break. But the Illini’s suffocating defense turned that blemish into an inconsequential blip.

Illinois held Maryland Eastern Shore to 7-for-33 field-goal shooting (21.2 percent) in the first half – including 1-for-12 from 3-point range – and forced 10 turnovers. The Hawks seemed to not know what hit them – and, as Mike Tyson might have noted, certainly had no plan after getting punched in the face. The Illini seemingly cut off every avenue on their opponents, who finished the first half with no assists.

After halftime, Riley was ablaze, pulling up for feathery jumpers and slinking to and around the rim for all-angles buckets that came easily for an 18-year-old in just his fifth college game. The outsized Illini annihilated the Hawks on the boards, 59-38, and held them to 22.1 percent field-goal shooting for the game.

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein Has High Praise for Illinois Basketball Freshmen

Top 5 Must-Watch Matchups for Illinois Basketball in 2024-25

No. 11 Maryland women’s basketball will be back in action on Sunday to host Saint Francis.

The Terps have enjoyed a week off after a dominating win over Towson last Sunday, 98-63, and will look for their first 6-0 start since the 2021-22 season.

“It’s been a week of practices for us to improve and get better,” head coach Brenda Frese said. “Able to really work on some things defensively and fine tuning things on the offensive end to get ourselves ready for Saint Francis.”

Sunday’s matchup will tip-off at 1 p.m. from Xfinity Center and stream on Big Ten Plus.

Saint Francis Red Flash (1-5, 0-0 Northeast Conference)

2023-24 record: 5-25, 4-12 NEC

Head coach Keila Whittington is in her sixth season with the Red Flash and has only led her team to a winning record once. Saint Francis has an overall 46-102 record under Whittington.

Saint Francis earned its first win of the season on Wednesday night, when the Red Flash took down Robert Morris, 58-55, on the road. Saint Francis has suffered defeats to NJIT, Lafayette, Coppin State, Canisius and Loyola Maryland.

Players to watch

Yanessa Boyd, sophomore guard, 5-foot-9, No. 0 — Boyd is in her second season with the Red Flash and has solidified herself as a starter, leading the team in minutes. She also leads the team with 7.7 points per game. after finishing third last season with 7.1 points per game. Boyd is from Frederick, Maryland, and finished her high school career at Riverdale Baptist.

Ineivi Plata, freshman guard, 5-foot-3, No. 10 — Plata has started every game and is second on the team in minutes as freshman out of White Plains, New York. Plata is currently averaging 4.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.6 turnovers per game. She is 9-of-29 from the field and 2-of-16 from 3-point range this season. She scored a career-high nine points against Coppin State.

Natalie Johnson, junior guard, 5-foot-8, No. 5 — Johnson is in her first season with Saint Francis after transferring from Robert Morris, who Johnson had 10 points against on Wednesday. She has only started one game this season, but averages 7.5 points per game, the second most for Saint Francis. Johnson averages 19.8 minutes per game and is a solid piece off the bench for the Red Flash.

Strength

Rebounding. The Red Flash have outrebounded their opponents this season, 194-188. As a team, Saint Francis averages 32.3 rebounds per game, which ranks fifth in the NEC, and is led by Marina Artero and Plata, who both average 4.0 rebounds.

Weakness

Turnovers. Saint Francis turns the ball over 21.7 times per game, leading to a -7.8 turnover margin for the Red Flash. Opponents average 19.7 points off turnovers and the Red Flash’s assist-to-turnover ratio is 0.5.

Three things to watch

1. A differential against Coppin State. The Red Flash fell to Coppin State, 74-38, on Nov. 12, while Maryland previously took down Coppin State on Nov. 7, 70-47. That is a 59-point margin between Maryland’s and Saint Francis’ performances against Coppin State. While anything can happen, the Terps should have no issues beating Saint Francis.

2. An easy stretch. After the Terps defeated then-No. 11 Duke and Syracuse, they have entered a three-week stretch against lower-level competition until its first Big Ten game on Dec. 7 against Purdue. Their final nonconference game of the regular season will be in the midst of Maryland’s conference schedule against No. 4 Texas in the Coretta Scott King Classic. The Terps will need to be conscious of keeping their foot on the pedal over the next two weeks before their schedule gets tough.

3. Keeping pace. The Terps have three players averaging double-digit points in Kaylene Smikle, Shyanne Sellers and Christina Dalce, as well as two players who are averaging upward of seven rebounds per game in Dalce and Saylor Poffenbarger. Scoring and rebounding have been key parts of Maryland’s game thus far, and the Terps are in position to improve these averages Sunday.

“We just want to take where we’re at and continue to keep building and improving and getting better,” Frese said.

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. FTW operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.